1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an IC card connector which brings the electrode terminals of an IC card that is inserted into the connector securely into contact with electrode pieces thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional IC card connector for connecting an IC card has such a structure as shown in the sectional view of FIG. 5 which shows the state before the IC card is inserted.
A frame 1 made of an insulating material such as a synthetic resin is provided on an external device (not shown) such as a card reader. A plurality of electrode pieces 2 each comprising a resilient conductor such as a metal are fixed to the frame 1 and are bent at their ends to form contact portions 2a. A moving body 3 is supported in the frame 1 so as to be able to slide in the longitudinal direction of FIG. 5, and a projection 3a extending downwardly is provided on the lower surface of the moving body 3. A lever 4 is rotatably provided in a lower portion of the frame 1 by means of a support pin 5 so that the moving body 3 is pushed upwardly by the projection 3a when the lever 4 rotates in the counterclockwise direction A as shown in FIG. 5.
An IC card 8 is inserted into this connector. A plurality of electrode terminals 9 are provided along one surface of the IC card 8. The lever 4 of the connector is initially rotated in the counterclockwise direction A so as to upwardly push the moving body 3. In this state, the contact portion 2a of each of the electrode pieces 2 is pushed to the left as viewed in FIG. 5 to be opened by an electrode operating portion 3b which projects from the lower side of the moving body 3.
When the IC card 8 is inserted into the connector, the lower end of the IC card 8 is brought into contact with the electrode operating portion 3b of the moving body 3 so as to push the moving body 3 downward, and the contact portion 2a of each of the electrode pieces 2 is released from the state wherein it is pushed open so as to elastically return to a closed position wherein it is brought into contact with each of the electrode terminals 9 of the IC card 8 as shown in FIG. 6. At the same time, the lever 4 is rotated in the clockwise direction by the downward movement of the projection 3a of the moving body 3.
When the IC card 8 is extracted from the connector, the lever 4 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction A so as to move the moving body 3 upward. As a result, the electrode operating portion 3b of the moving body 3 pushes the ends of the electrode pieces 2 so as to make the contact portions 2a open as well as upwardly pushing on the IC card 8. In this way, the connector is returned to the state shown in FIG. 5 so that the IC card 8 is extracted from the connector.
As described above, by inserting slidably the IC card 8 into the conventional IC card connector, the electrical contact between the contact portions 2a of the electrode pieces 2 which are provided on the frame 1 and the electrode terminals 9 of the IC card 8 is provided only on the basis of the elastic forces of the electrode pieces 2. This involves the consequent danger that the elastic forces of the electrode pieces will decrease as the connector is used more and more, and that, when the thickness of the IC card 8 is smaller than a given value, electrical contact therebetween cannot be obtained adequately, resulting in an imperfect contact.
A further danger is that, when the thickness of the IC card 8 is large, the package of the IC card 8 will be brought into contact with the contact portions 2a of the electrode pieces 2 and thus wear out when the IC card is linearly inserted into or extracted from the connector, resulting in an imperfect contact due to the adhesion of the powder produced by the wear to the contact portions 2a and in the exposure of the electrical parts in the IC card 8 that are protected by the package.